Rodney Whitaker

Jazz double bassist and educator Rodney Whitaker was born February 22, 1968, in Detroit, Michigan. While attending Wayne State University, he studied under Detroit Symphony Orchestra bassist Robert Gladstone and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. He is acknowledged as one of the world’s finest jazz double bassists and has collaborating with many of the biggest names in jazz including Wynton Marsalis (he was a member of Marsalis’ septet), Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman, Cassandra Wilson, Chick Corea, Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Terence Blanchard, Marian McPartland, Rodney Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Mulgrew Miller, Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, and many others. Rodney Whitaker released Children of the Light, his first album as a leader, in 1996. He followed that release with a series of solo releases including Hidden Kingdom (1997), Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (2000), Winter Moon (2004), When We Find Ourselves Alone (2014), and Common Sound: The Music of Gregg Hill (2019). He has also composed film scores including China (2002). Rodney Whitaker has also released collaborations with Jack Brandfield and Randy Napoleon (2021’s I’ll Never Be the Same) and Tim Mayer and Ulysses Owens, Jr. (2021’s Keeper of the Flame). As an educator, Rodney Whitaker has taught many master classes across the United States. He has served on the faculties of University of Michigan and Julliard Institute of Jazz.

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